Letter: Taxes

By Stephen Duncombe, Bridgeton

Published: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at 03:37 PM.

I bought into the Republican mantra of “No New Taxes” and voted Republican in the state elections. I did not realize that the slogan “No New Taxes” had been shortened from “No New Taxes, but wait till you see our FEES”!

True to their word, we have had no new taxes from the government; we have new fees. The ferry system, in addition to tourism, provides a convenient mode of transit over water for the commuters of a couple of ENC counties, as does a bridge. Cherry Branch ridership is roughly 500,000 passengers annually. I would think half of that number would be repeat trips by workers to and from work in Morehead,
Havelock
or
Jacksonville
— the same workers getting hit by sequestration.

These riders are middle class workers who need as much of their incomes as they can manage to hold. They are not the rich of the state. These riders account for roughly 3 percent of the N.C. population, and are being selectively taxed, hence the word “fee.”

If the government were being honest, it would place a toll on the
Rout
64/Alligator
River
bridge, the gateway to the Outer Banks. This won’t happen because this is where the rich of N.C. go to play. Note the uproar to get Route 12 dug out and repaired so tourist and owners can get back to their beachfront homes and the road can get washed out again.

We are paying for four (at least) new toll booths for the ferries. The Route 64 bridge would need one new booth. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore has 2.4 million visitors last year. If even half the visitors came to the Outer Banks via the
Alligator
Bridge
, it is still 1 million. Let alone the concept of tolls on routes 95, 85, 77 or 40. Almost every state along the Eastern Seaboard has tolls on their major interstates. Why can't we? It would harm big business.

Instead our gov’t has fixated on putting a bandage on our debt, taking more money from those needing it most, showing everyone that they are serious legislators, and keeping their pals happy.

Another example in our back yard is the proposed boat registration fee increases. Under the proposal, registration fees for a 20-foot boat will rise 275 percent and 1025 percent for a 40-foot boat. It is great to see the wealthy taking a hit here: if you can afford the fuel for a 60-foot boat, you can pay the tax, sorry, fee. The increase, according to BOAT/US, will make North
Carolina
the most expensive state in which to register a boat.

I bought into the Republican mantra of “No New Taxes” and voted Republican in the state elections. I did not realize that the slogan “No New Taxes” had been shortened from “No New Taxes, but wait till you see our FEES”!

True to their word, we have had no new taxes from the government; we have new fees. The ferry system, in addition to tourism, provides a convenient mode of transit over water for the commuters of a couple of ENC counties, as does a bridge. Cherry Branch ridership is roughly 500,000 passengers annually. I would think half of that number would be repeat trips by workers to and from work in Morehead, Havelock or Jacksonville — the same workers getting hit by sequestration.

These riders are middle class workers who need as much of their incomes as they can manage to hold. They are not the rich of the state. These riders account for roughly 3 percent of the N.C. population, and are being selectively taxed, hence the word “fee.”

If the government were being honest, it would place a toll on the Rout64/AlligatorRiver bridge, the gateway to the Outer Banks. This won’t happen because this is where the rich of N.C. go to play. Note the uproar to get Route 12 dug out and repaired so tourist and owners can get back to their beachfront homes and the road can get washed out again.

We are paying for four (at least) new toll booths for the ferries. The Route 64 bridge would need one new booth. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore has 2.4 million visitors last year. If even half the visitors came to the Outer Banks via the AlligatorBridge, it is still 1 million. Let alone the concept of tolls on routes 95, 85, 77 or 40. Almost every state along the Eastern Seaboard has tolls on their major interstates. Why can't we? It would harm big business.

Instead our gov’t has fixated on putting a bandage on our debt, taking more money from those needing it most, showing everyone that they are serious legislators, and keeping their pals happy.

Another example in our back yard is the proposed boat registration fee increases. Under the proposal, registration fees for a 20-foot boat will rise 275 percent and 1025 percent for a 40-foot boat. It is great to see the wealthy taking a hit here: if you can afford the fuel for a 60-foot boat, you can pay the tax, sorry, fee. The increase, according to BOAT/US, will make North Carolina the most expensive state in which to register a boat.

But wait … Federally documented vessels are exempt. Any boat over 5 net tons, effectively, 30-feet long, need not register in North Carolina at all. You’re safe, rich guy. No increase for those big boats plying the rivers of our state, really, no tax, fee, period. Only the guy with the 20-25-foot boat and those who do not document will feel the pain.

Assumed in these taxes, sorry fees, is that NCDOT has streamlined its operations and trimmed budgets, employees and perks to the bone, so much so that taxes (fees) are the only option.

Both of these fees (taxes) hit squarely on the middle class, and the middle class, alone.

Inasmuch as the Republican Party is trying to rebrand its image, they should start with the logo: out with the elephant and welcome the new mascot: a duck, maybe based on Scrooge McDuck.